Parametric study during abrasive water jet turning of hybrid metal matrix composite

Abstract

The growing demand of efficient materials in automobile and aircraft industries originates the development of metal matrix composites (MMCs) with excellent properties such as higher strength, hardness and stiffness, better corrosive and wear resistance and thermal properties. However, these materials are not produced at a larger scale because of its poor machining performance due to the presence of hard abrasive particle which leads to high tool wear and meager machining outputs. This paper deals with the abrasive waterjet turning of the newly developed hybrid MMC of A359/B4C/Al2O3 produced by electromagnetic stir casting method. The main aim of the study is to discuss the effect of process parameters of abrasive waterjet machining on outcomes such as surface roughness and metal removal rate. Response surface methodology and ANOVA analysis has been applied to discuss the significant level of process parameters and their mathematical relations. The results reveals that each output response considered in the study was significantly affected by the machining process parameters. The surface roughness is found in the range of 6.0545 µm to 8.3825 µm, and MRR varies from 434.72 mm3/min to 565.02 mm3/min.